AND NOW GM CROPS TO FIND BACK DOOR ENTRY INTO INDIA ?

YES ITS TRUE . IF THIS GOVT HAS ITS WAY , a new bill -  the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill can be tabled anytime in the next Parliament session in NOV 2011.  This bill will create a body which will single handedly approve GM crops entry  in our country. 

The Bill attempts to impose an undemocratic, secretive system that cannot be challenged under the laws of the country. The most egregious of these provisions is Section 63 which allows for imprisonment and hefty fines for "whoever, without any evidence or scientific record, misleads the public about the safety of the organisms and products in Schedule I". Besides, the proposed law will override other statutes like the Right to Information (RTI) Act and the Environment Protection Act. In sum, details of BRAI's decisions cannot be sought by the public, nor can these be legally challenged.

"The BRAI Bill is a draconian and blatant attempt to bulldoze through the public resistance and genuine concerns about genetically modified crops, and to deny state governments their constitutional authority over Agriculture and Health,” according to Kavitha Kuruganti of the Coalition for a GM-Free India.. 

Food safety is crucial to our health and that of our future generations. Unfortunately our current government has been overlooking the interests of the citizens and promoting genetically-modified (GM) crops, that has already wrecked havoc in other places on the globe . Our food faces the MOST DANGEROUS threat of genetic modification. Efforts are on to genetically modify our food crops by inserting alien genes from bacteria, viruses etc. which are potentially dangerous for our health and our environment.  

This Bill will let the big guns in . Multinational teams like the American 'Monsanto' specially ,is looking at India as its big emergent market. It has already done damage in  many other countries and Europe has said NO to it on many occasions .This bill will open the 'back-door'  for entry of those evil giants into India, and then make sure that under the patronage of a corrupt Indian govt. those companies stay  and get to do what they want to without anybody being able to stop them. They will only be  sharing the spoils  with those in the Govt that let them in while the interest of the nation is compromised  .

THIS BILL IS THE GRAVEST THREAT TO INDIAS ENVIRONMENT AND FOOD SECURITY AND MUST BE OPPOSED BY EVERY INDIAN .

"The bottom line of ANY  national agricultural biotechnology policy should be the economic well-being of farm families, food security of the nation, health security of the consumer, protection of the environment and the security of our national and international trade in farm commodities." 

THE BRAI bill if passed will undermine  all the above objectives .  

Sources:

1. Activists oppose BRAI Bill, The Hindu, August 17, 2011
   
   http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2366599.ece
2. Biotech Bill: Sweeping powers, glaring omissions, www.rediff.com, March 11, 2010
   
   http://business.rediff.com/column/2010/mar/11/guest-biotech-bill-glaring-omissions.htm

3. Reaping gold through cotton & newsprint by P. Sainath , May10, 2012.

   http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/article3401466.ece

   4.GM crops should go back to the lab. By Devinder Sharma - The Hindu 7Nov12. 

   http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/gm-crops-should-go-back-to-the-lab/article4074872.ece

   5.Supreme Court Expert committee recommends moratorium on GM Field trials.

   http://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/Press/Supreme-Court-Expert-committee-recommends-moratorium-on-GM-Field-trials/